Apple iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS review: A kidney buys you the best

Pros

Incredible performance | Great cameras | Great battery life | Great design | Best all around phone

Cons

Insanely expensive | No fast charging in the package
| Dual SIM not active at launch

Bottom Line

If you want the best and you’re willing to hold on to your phone for two years, then even at its astronomical price, the iPhone XS offers the best with some semblance of sense

Sept. 28, 2018Sahil Mohan Gupta

With every year that passes by, a new iPhone represents the pinnacle of smartphone technology. Last year, the iPhone X was the biggest update to the iPhone in 3 years, but despite that there is a feeling that Android phones are catching up.

So when three weeks ago, Apple announced the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max to a ravenous crowd at the Steve Jobs theatre, the question was why would someone in their right mind choose a rather iterative update which goes as far as a hulking Rs 1,45,900 — the question remains the same — what does a kidney buy you?

Well, it turns out, looks can be deceiving, the iPhone represents the pinnacle of mobile computing and is the most precisely designed device. Apple’s philosophy has given birth to a new breed of device which feels modern and flagship grade for not one, but two years running. At a starting price of Rs 99,900, this is not a phone for the iPhone X owner, but it’s for everyone else. That’s a lot of people who would want the best of mobile computing.

The new stuff

While the new iPhone XS looks more or less the same as the iPhone X, there is a lot that’s going on the inside which is new.

If you go by the table above, a lot hasn’t changed apart from the fact that there is a new Max model. But as always is the case with Apple’s “S” models, there is a lot going on in the background which composites to the improvements in the iPhone.

It is so wide ranging that it permeates through every aspect of the device.

The game changer is the A12 bionic processor which is manufactured using TSMC’s 7nm process. The A11 Bionic processor was already the fastest processor for mobile phones in the world - now the A12 Bionic take that crown, thanks to the the neural engine.

Then the display has been improved with a 120Hz refresh rate for the touch interactions and also better brightness and contrast levels.

The cameras also get improved hardware. The main 12-megapixel camera has a slightly larger sensor with 1.4um sub pixels allowing 40% more light to be absorbed. It also has a Google HDR+ like Smart HDR feature and stereo recording of audio.

The speakers have also been improved along side the battery life. This also becomes the first dual SIM iPhone with dual standby support being added via an e-SIM supported currently by Airtel and Jio in India.

This is also the first iPhone to support gigabit LTE connections, which is a pretty big deal.

iOS 12 also brings a number of performance improvements apart from adding new features like shortcuts for Siri, screen time to contain smartphone addiction, video FaceTime group calls and MeMojis.

And aesthetically too there is new colour — gold. Clearly, there is a lot going on in the new iPhones.

Why are they the best phones in the world?

There are a lot of good phones in the market. Many of them are also much cheaper than the iPhone, but none are as good as the iPhone holistically. But is it worth almost a lakh of rupees for a starting point, while many phones cost less than half of it, providing 90% of the same experience?

The promise of the iPhone is a grander one. In essence, there are two reasons why anyone buys the iPhone. 1) It’s the allure of having a flagship-grade experience in one purchase which lasts a minimum of 2 years. 2) It’s the allure of Apple’s fashion sensibility which calls on a user’s aesthetic sensibility and vanity.

In one shot, an iPhone gives you the cool of cutting edge, the sexy of being fashionable and the command over the feeling of being rich. It’s the feeling one gets while buying a Ferrari — it’s cutting edge, sexy and expensive.

And in use, the iPhone feels 100% cutting edge. It always has felt like that compared to any Android phone. But one need only go back to 2017, to see why the iPhone, despite the monstrous disparity in pricing is absolutely cutting edge.

With iOS 12, the iPhone X feels significantly faster than Android phones from last year including Google’s Pixel 2. Even on 2018 grade hardware — phones like the OnePlus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 don’t feel as rapid as the year old iPhone X. That gulf now gets widened with the iPhone XS.

With iOS 12, the iPhone X could be around 10-25% faster than any other Android phone from this year, that gap could be now around 30% with the iPhone XS.

This is reflective in games like PUBG and Modern Combat which display PlayStation 3 grade graphics on maximised settings. Frame rate drops aren’t a thing in the iPhone XS universe. Same holds true for heat management as this phone keeps cool as a cucumber even with heavy duty applications and long gaming sessions.

The iPhone XS isn’t only a generational leap in performance than any phone in the world, but it has sophisticated heat management which is a result of the brilliant A12 bionic processor which now also boasts audacious graphics. And here I haven’t even mentioned the neural engine yet.

But the benchmarks also reflect the same thing, with 3DMark even claiming that the benchmark was too light for the horsepower the iPhone XS boasts.

The technical chops of the processor aside, even the new Super Retina display on the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS is a class apart. Last year's iPhone X had a great display which was acknowledged by DisplayMate as the best ever. Earlier in the year, Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Note 9 took that mantle away from the iPhone X, but now the iPhone XS has come roaring back.

It has again been rated as the best smartphone display of all time by Dr Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate which is no mean feat. What you’re getting is a colour accurate OLED panel which works brilliantly for video-based content with enhanced brightness, colour contrast and dynamic range of the iPhone X display.

Comparing this display to the one on the Pixel 2 XL would be a comparison with a pauper. That’s how good this screen is. And it’s a sight to behold while being used for watching content on Netflix which includes HDR video. Google has also optimised the YouTube app for the same. In tandem with Corning, Apple has also revealed a new formulation of the coverglass which is stronger and more scratch resistant.

The coverglass is not only strong on the front, it’s also very sturdy on the back which is in line with the iPhone XS being the most precisely constructed devices in the market. Aside from the Nokia 8 Sirocco, no other mainstream phone has a main structure milled out of stainless steel which is a superior alloy over series 7000 aluminium which is still used in phones like the Galaxy Note 9.

The build quality of the iPhone is another dimension. It’s IP68 rating is also reflective of that which is a superior form of certification that allows one to douse the phone in liquids for longer than before, including most phones in the market.

The stainless steel on the iPhone XS is also polished using a special technique which brings out the gold colour even more. Apple’s oleophobic coating is also ahead of the pack, which makes it a more palatable fingerprint magnet. This makes this the best looking gold smartphone out there, at least that’s what I believe.

The dated nature of its design shouldn’t be counted as a weakness of this phone but rather a strength as it acts as the flag bearer for all devices with a notch. It’s a design that’s widely emulated to death but only perfected by Apple.

The notch aside, even the most ardent critiques of the ‘iPhone X design language’ would submit that Apple’s phone is iconic to look at. And the innocuousness of the that seamlessly transitions to the new iPhone XS Max which now has a 6.5-inch screen in a frame that’s smaller than both Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 and Apple’s former big boy phone — the iPhone 8 Plus.

Of course, the edge to edge nature of the phone causes some usability issues on the “Max” but Apple’s elegant approach towards software flexibility with features like “reachability” and “ accessibility” should fix this.

Inside this new design, there is a new speaker system as well, which sounds swell. It’s loud and clear and great for things like Netflix and PUBG — a perfect companion to the great new display and processor which enables all of this new immersion.

But the biggest hyped update, are the cameras. Even though the specs would say the cameras are similar, they are not. These are greatly improved with a all-new sensor, which is bigger and also new processing thanks to the new image signal processor (ISP), with the neural engine enabling the new bokeh mode and smart HDR which dramatically improves the images taken from the camera.

Last year, if you ever felt that the iPhone X camera performance was lacking or soft in complex lighting situations, you will not feel that anymore. The camera on the iPhone XS manages to handle complex lighting very easily and takes pleasing photos which are a tad oversaturated, with vibrant colours and an overall warm tonal signature.

It resolves colours and lighting in low light situations very well and handles dynamic flares very well. The bokeh mode is enhanced with a more natural blur, better detail, image segmentation and better low light performance. The bokeh now can be manipulated in post allowing you to enhance or reduce the blur.

Then there is the telephoto lens which enables 2x optical zoom not present on the Pixel 2; a feature greatly appreciated when you’re trying to get close to the subject but just can’t.

We have done a detailed camera comparison with the Pixel 2 and iPhone X, and the results are clear. With smart HDR processing, Apple has caught up to the Google Pixel 2 in terms of all around camera performance. It may not be as good as the Huawei P20 Pro but it’s up there with the Google Pixel 2.

When one talks about video recording, the iPhone XS is in a galaxy of its own. The iPhone X has the best video camcorder that exists. Apple may not have added to the capabilities to the video camera, but it has improved it across the board with smoother capture, better software stabilisation married to optical stabilisation (OIS) and 4K at 60 frames per second, something the iPhone XS crunches like it’s having a biscuit. The stereo audio capture is class leading which makes it the best camera to have when you’re trying to bootleg some footage.

The front camera is also great for selfies and selfie videos because of the optical stabiliser. The new processor and the new secure enclave also make Face ID slightly more secure and faster, making it the best biometric scanning system on a phone right now.

And the iPhone XS does all this while offering slightly better, day-long battery life on the smaller XS, and superb day and a half long battery life on the XS Max which by the way is in the same ballpark as the P20 Pro and superior to the Note 9 and Pixel 2 XL.

This is what it achieves right now. Its A12 processor opens up many more possibilities. The neural engine is a game changer with it having the ability to compute 5 trillion operations a second. Apps which use on- device machine learning that come in the future will leverage this aspect of the phone more so than ever. AR experiences will also work better thanks to this neural engine and Apple’s new cameras will provide a more exquisite visual canvas.

Apple’s software is the simplest to use with the most diverse set of apps available on its Apps Store. Hardware nuances added by things like the Taptic Engine and the 120Hz touch response make the iPhone XS experience the most fulfilling and fluid experience of any smartphone; it feels smoother than even the OnePlus 6.

iOS 12’s focus on performance has made the iPhone XS even more formidable from a long-term point of view. Its cool features like Siri shortcuts make it a more intelligent and dynamic phone. Wellness features like screen time can help you reduce your smartphone addiction. And lastly, it’s also considered to be the most secure smartphone platform at the moment which appeals to the security conscious.

Call quality is solid. We tested the phone on a erratic Airtel connection. We couldn’t test the e-SIM dual-SIM feature as Apple will enable it via a software update at a later date. It’s also worth noting that now the iPhone XS supports gigabyte 4G LTE speeds.

What’s not cool about the iPhone XS?

There isn’t much wrong with the iPhone XS and XS Max, but there are few critical faux pax’s that Apple has made. Two very distinct ones -- the lack of a fast charger which plagues the iPhone XS Max more than the XS and the removal of the 3.5mm to lightning adaptor.

These are stingy moves by the richest company in the world and one that is selling the most expensive mainstream smartphone in the world. It just does not look good whatever be the reason Apple may have. It’s hobbling the consumer, which goes against the grain of Apple as a company.

Lastly, which may be a minor issue is that the still camera on the iPhone XS just about competes with the Pixel 2. With the Pixel 3 and Huawei Mate 20 incoming, it’s likely that Apple’s camera will fall behind again. If you’re are looking for the best smartphone camera for stills, then this again will not be the one in 2018.

Some people will also bemoan the fact that it’s still using the same design and the notch. For people with small hands, the XS Max may be too big too but that’s there with most new phones these days. And the most obvious flaw in the iPhone XS for India is its incredible Rs 99,900 starting price for the 64GB model.

Should you buy it?

The question isn’t that should you buy the iPhone XS, but rather can you afford to buy it. For Rs 99,900, there is no denying pound for pound one gets the most complete and fulfilling smartphone experience. The iPhone XS Max is even better in terms of content immersion and battery life. And these are phones that will remain world class even one year down the line when the iPhone 11 launches. Essentially, you’re buying into a two-year smartphone cycle than a one year one.

If you want the best and you’re willing to hold on to your phone for two years, then even at its astronomical price, the iPhone XS offers the best with some semblance of sense. But clearly, this is not for the owner of the iPhone X. iOS 12 makes iPhone X too good a phone to dunk in favour of the iPhone XS - but for everyone else, it represents the pinnacle of modern computing, the very best which can only be bought with a kidney. You don’t get such a complete package with any Android phone, even today.

About the Author

A fan of the iconic TV series Star Trek since childhood, Sahil Mohan Gupta, was pushed towards writing about technology because of impact of the TV show at a very young age. Sahil, who is known as Bones, in professional and social circles, has been writing about tech for more than 6 years. He has written about everything under the sun; ranging from smartphones, tablets, PCs, videos games, AI to pro audio, music, nightlife, sports and movies. Sahil has worked for some of the most prestigious media houses in India covering technology verticals and has also hosted consumer electronics shows on Indian national television. At PCMag India, he brings his ... See Full Bio